I am grateful this evening for the words of wisdom and inspiration that people have written over the year, decades, centuries, millennia. I keep many quotations scribbled on post-it notes plastered all over the upright flat surfaces on my desk. Many of them are things that have encouraged me as I’ve struggled with understanding what was happening in my life and figuring out how to stand strong in the midst of it all. What’s not plastered on the front of my desktop computer is etched in my memory in bits and pieces. Thank goodness for search engines that only require that you know the first few words of a quote and can find it for you. Words of inspiration by writers, spiritual teachers, religious figures all kinds of people have stuck with me and strengthened my mind, heart, and spirit.
Tonight I have no particular wisdom to share; this has been a fairly typical Saturday for me these days. I packed and organized and cleaned and threw some stuff away. Tomorrow I will get up and do more of the same. I have to keep at it until everything is done, and everything is a lot.
So instead of sharing my own particular brand of wisdom as I have done on so many nights before, I will share someone else’s wisdom that stands out a top my desktop computer offering inspiration to me whenever I take the time to read it. It’s the piece from Marianne Williamson’s “A Return to Love.” It has been quoted and shared many, many times, my guess is because it resonates with so many people.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
I am grateful for the words of inspiration that keep me moving forward in the midst of challenges. Marianne Williamson’s words serve as a reminder to me of who I am and how I am meant to show up in the world. I might not know the particulars of how I am meant to “manifest the glory of God” within me, but I do know that it’s my job to show up, as best I can, willing to be pointed toward the work I need to be doing in the world empowered by the Spirit to do great things. My “what’s next” awaits me, and I am grateful.
